Snowy With a Chance of Penguins

      I don't recall exactly when it was, possibly sometime in February, but we were learning about weather patterns in Science. The book also shows weather maps and tells what the different symbols on those mean. I had a random creative thought somewhere among the teaching of this. The thought consisted of me thinking how awesome, and helpful for the kids it would be to have them make their own weather maps. Then, let's make these maps of Kosrae. Finally, how fun would it be for each of them to be a weather man/woman!

      I found a map of Kosrae and drew it on the chalkboard, separating each municipality with a line. Then I proceeded to draw in cold/warm fronts, clouds, sunshine, and even snow, each with the temperature, just as you would see it on TV. Once it was time, I started.

      “Good Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to your 11 o'clock news (it was). I'm your host, Travis Sandidge, and here is your next-day weather forecast.

      “In Tafunsak, we will be having a warm front coming in from the north. So, it will be sunny with a high of 85ºF (pointing at the picture on the board). Over in Lelu there will be a cold front coming in from the East, so it will be cloudy with a high of 68ºF. Malem is further West; it will be partly cloudy with some sunshine mixed in. High of 75ºF. Go a little more West, and Eastern Utwe will be a bit warmer, sunny, with a high of 79ºF. Looking to the Western side of Utwe, kind of strange, but... it looks like there will be snow with a high of 25ºF (pointing at an awesome snowflake drawing).

      “Thank you for tuning in. I'm your host, Travis Sandidge, and have a good day.”

      At first the kids didn't really know what to do; they seemed a little confused at what was happening. Then, all at once, they realized they were watching the weather channel, and they started clapping, laughing, and saying, “Ohhhh.Yeeeaaaahhh.” At times I had to pause because they were making me laugh. They were making all sorts of sounds, thoroughly enjoying their personal weather forecast. It was heartening (a heart, what?).

      After I finished that, I explained to the kids the requirements of their own weather map and forecast: two fronts, four weather symbols with temperatures, and it had to have some color. There were a few other requirements, such as subbing their name into the beginning and end of my forecast, and having it memorized. Pretty simple. I recorded all of them, and all the kids had a good time with it. One of them even brought in his own pointer stick, causing other students to regret not having their own. This was one of my better – actually, best ideas for class thus far.

      I have always been an avid reader. I read all of the fun, classic elementary books plus some more when I was younger, and I still read when I can. In fact, it's been a very long time since I haven't had a book marker in at least one book somewhere, saving my page. We owe thanks to books more than many people realize or acknowledge. They have helped me in all the well-known ways: vocabulary, knowledge, creativity, imagination, and the small ways that individual books may have influenced me, possibly by altering my ideals or morals for the better. If there is anything that I really want the kids to have when I leave it's a love for reading. I'm not saying a complete introvert, but a respect for and understanding of the good use of books.

      Two or three times since I arrived I had the kids read a book and write a report from it. As far as I can tell, they had never done so before I came along. I did some talking about it, but didn't commit a whole lot of time to explain it. With each successive report I explained more, and their understanding increased. I had plans to do a weekly thing, but I kept forgetting and didn't have time for the explaining. To make it less for me to remember, I decided on a challenge:

      “From now until the end of the quarter, the person who reads the most books will win a prize. They have to be at least fifty pages (earlier, some had used ten-page books) and you have to write a book report on each.”

      I spent a period the next day to explain writing a book report very clearly. I started this challenge, I believe, two Thursdays before the end of third quarter. Over the weekend I even made a super-awesome-looking poster, titled “Rad Reading Race,” to display the racers' current standing (I was included on this). When a student would give me a book report, I would check it. Then I would put a star by their name and the number of pages in the book (they had to put that at the top). By the end of third quarter, two of my students had read many a book, and one had filled every box next to their name. She had actually read four books in one weekend.

      After reading each book report and trying (and failing) to help them improve their successive reports, I decided I really need to take it to the basics. At the start of fourth quarter I told them that they had to hold on reading, because we would be reading a book together. I miraculously found a classic: Mr. Popper's Penguins.

      For the next seven days I read (sometimes a student did) the book to the class, until it was finished. Then we wrote the book report together using the method of, one by one, recalling the main characters, setting, and plot. I asked the kids, “Who were the characters in the book?”

“Mr. Popper! Mrs. Popper! Janie and Bill! Captain Cook! Admiral Drake! Greta! The policeman! The repair man!”

      Each of these were shouted by one or multiple kids. Then I asked them who the most important characters were, the people who were in the whole book, and we narrowed it down very well. Next the setting: Stillwater; Fall; in a city. Finally, plot. Again, many different things were shouted out, and I had to help more on this to point out the very important things that happened in the book. Quite a lot of important things happened in the book, actually. “What were the problems in the book?” Again, various random problems, with the most important ones mixed in. We narrowed this down to Captain Cook almost dying and later, them all being put in jail. We finished with how the problems were fixed.

      I had wrote all this information on the board, and they had written it as well. I told them that they need to take it home and write a book report from it, including the most important things from all the things we had talked about. I think one or two of them actually tried it and had something the next day. I ended up writing the book report, with them listening as I said what I wrote and pointed out why I chose what I had wrote. I allowed them to write what I wrote or do it themselves. It was about half and half. With this all done, I started the race again. Now, they are required to do at least one a week. The book reports have improved greatly, and I finally put up an extension table next to the original.

      I know that I am temporary, especially in these kids' lives, but if I can teach them to love enduring things, take God and books for example – obviously God exceeds books – then I know that I will have made a lasting difference.